Fluffy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
These tender lemon poppy seed muffins are full of fresh lemon flavor with a fluffy texture and poppy seed crunch. They are topped with a lemon drizzle to give them a bit of an extra lemon kick.
The muffin batter is based on this strawberry lemon muffins, but with a few little tweaks. It’s a very easy batter to make, with melted butter and sour cream to bring rich flavor and moisture to the muffin base. There is lots of lemon zest in the base, first rubbed into the sugar. This helps to release the lemon oils in the zest and bring that lemony flavor into the muffin. There’s lemon juice in there too, but that’s not just for flavor, the acidity in the lemon juice creates tender muffins by inhibiting the gluten formation in the batter.
About these muffins
- Make them in advance if you want! The batter can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 12 hours before being baked.
- No mixer is needed. These lemon poppy seed muffins use melted butter so you don’t need an electric mixer.
- Full of texture. Thanks to the poppy seeds in the batter and the lemony coarse sugar topping.
The topping
When the muffins are hot out of the oven, they are topped with a simple mixture of granulated sugar and fresh lemon juice. The granulated sugar doesn’t dissolve in this mixture, so it also adds an element of crunch to the fluffy muffin. And then the lemon juice soaks up into the muffins and brings more moisture.
Ingredients
You’ll find the exact amounts in the recipe card below, but here’s a quick look at the key ingredients and why they matter.
Fresh lemons
You’ll use both the zest and juice for bright, punchy flavor. The zest brings the fragrance, especially if you take the time to rub it in sugar first and the juice adds tang.
Sour cream or Greek yogurt
Keeps the muffins soft and moist with a little tang that pairs perfectly with the lemon.
Melted butter
Adds richness and a tender crumb. Salted or unsalted both work, just reduce the added salt slightly if using salted.
Poppy seeds
Add a lovely nutty crunch and texture.
How to make lemon poppy seed muffins
- Combine the granulated sugar and the lemon zest.
- Use your fingers to rub the lemon zest into the sugar to release the lemon oils and bring the best flavor.
- Add in the melted butter, eggs, sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla. Whisk it together until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients, and fold them together with a rubber spatula alternating with the milk. Don’t over mix it or your muffins will be dense.
- Cover the muffin batter bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven.
Note: The batter can also be covered and refrigerated for up to 12 hours before being divided and baked. Note that scoop will be much thicker after a long rest.
Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
- Divide the batter over 12 muffin liners.
- If you want a large bakery muffin, fill only 10 of the muffin cups with batter so that each muffin is fuller.
- When the muffins have only a couple of minutes left of baking, mix together the lemon juice and sugar for the topping.
- As the hot muffins come from the oven, prick the tops of the muffins with a cake tester or toothpick. Then generously drizzle them with the crunchy topping.
Baking
The muffins are baked at a high heat initally, then the oven is turned down for the remainder of the baking time. That initial burst of heat causes the batter to lift and form those lovely domed tops.
Serving and storing
Enjoy these homemade muffins as a delicious breakfast treat or an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee. Leftover muffins can be stored at room temperature, covered for up to 3 days. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Store in an airtight freezer bag or container.
More recipes
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon zest
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 113 g unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 60 g sour cream or greek yogurt, room temperature
- 120 g whole milk room temperature
Topping
- 60 g fresh lemon juice
- 50 g granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. Whisk together to combine and set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the granulated sugar and the lemon zest. Use your fingers to rub the lemon zest into the sugar to release the lemon oils and bring the best flavor.
- Add in the melted butter, eggs, sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla. Whisk it together until well combined.
- Tip in your dry ingredients, and fold them together with a rubber spatula alternating with the milk. Take care not to overmix the batter.
- Cover the muffin batter bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven.
- Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Divide the batter evenly over the muffin liners.
- Bake the muffins at 425°F/220°C for 5 minutes then turn the oven down to 350°F/180°C and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are lightly golden brown and the muffin tops spring back when pressed in the center. For mini muffins, the baking time will need to be reduced.
- When the muffins have only a couple of minutes left of baking, mix together the lemon juice and sugar for the topping.
- As the hot muffins come from the oven, prick the tops of each muffin a few times with a skewer so the topping can soak in. Then generously drizzle the muffins with the crunchy lemon sugar topping.
- Once drizzled, remove the muffins from the tin and let the cool further on a wire rack.
Another great recipe, thanks Elien. This takes me back to the early 2000s when lemon poppyseed muffins (in fact, muffins of every variety) were the big thing! I’ve made this recipe twice now and worked out beautifully both times. Thank you!
Thank you Miriam! So happy you liked them! 😀
I wanted a sweet treat for breakfast today. These muffins were amazing. I had to lock up my dog because she loves my baked goods and would have cleared the rack!
Thanks for the recipe. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but my lemon/sugar topping was not crunchy. I poked holes in the tops of the muffins, but the topping was very runny. When I poured it on, it just ran off. I ended up dipping the tops in the liquid. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Hey Lori, the topping should be very runny because of the lemon juice, but I kind of scoop the sugar from the lemon sugar mixture and dollop that on the muffins. That way it creates a crunchy top.
Let’s just start, I love baking and I’ve never baked something so delicious in my life before.
The crunchy topping wasn’t crunchy, it was just liquid and super tasty.
Also, there was milk written in the ingredients, but not in the recipe. I decided to add it with the wet ingredients and I think I made a good choice… maybe you can add it in the recipe?
It confused me quite a bit haha.
But again, nog nooit zoiets lekkers gebakken!
Hey! So happy you loved them! There is milk written in the recipe. It’s in the step where the dry ingredients are added 🙂
Bedankt voor je mooie feedback!
Five Stars! These muffins are the perfect lemon muffin! The lemon/sugar drizzle compliments these muffins more than a glaze does in my opinion. Instead of 2tbsp of poppyseeds, I used 1tbsp and they still turned out amazing. I think letting the muffin batter sit before baking helped them fluff like a cupcake instead of having a dense muffin. It adds a nice touch!
Can I omit the poppy seeds?